Fundo done

Well - Evelyn is now the proud owner(?) of a Nissen Fundoplication.  In short, the impetus for the surgery was to mitigate any reflux as a likely partial source for aspiration pneumonia.

We went in to the hospital on Sunday 18-Apr, just to be "checked out" by the pulmonology crew, and generally get ready for the procedure.  At 10AM on Monday, Evs had the procedure.  Happily, it was able to be performed laparoscopically, so Evs came back with 5 little heart-shaped bandages, in a sort of a rainbow across her tummy (see pic).

The first day was a little rough, as due to Evs' very recent respiratory issues - the anesthesiologist wanted her to remain on the vent for the entire first day following the surgery (instead of being extubated shortly after surgery "as usual").  That's actually the first time Kim or I have seen Evs on a vent for any significant period of time (if honestly ever actually seeing it) - so that was a "tough first" for us.  True to form, though, Evs said "enough was enough" - in part due to some seizures being out-of-whack (anesthesia'll do it every time...), coupled with some... ahem... "general agitation" - Evelyn extubated herself at around 5AM the following morning.  ;-)  She wasn't quite ready to go it totally on her own, though, and had to go back on bi-pap for the next day - but other than that - it was an uneventful surgery, which is the kind we like.

The rest of the week was essentially "recovery" - ramping down the bi-pap & oxygen usage; managing post-op pain; downgrading from the PICU to the TICU - "etc".  We also managed to squeak in a visit with the rehab doctors for another Botox treatment (seriously, Botox.  It helps with her muscle tone; see Botox!).  By late week, she was starting to look much more chipper, and was on "room air" during the day - pretty much back to baseline.  After taking her on a few tours around the TICU Friday, and the general hospital grounds Saturday - We were discharged early Sunday (for once, not during rush-hour!).

So - all's well that ends well, I guess.  Kim counted, and to-date, we're at 39 days of 2010 in the hospital.  Here's to hoping this surgery does the trick & we're much less frequent flyers at the Scottish Ritz for the balance of 2010!